The Old Testament is a collection of writings that was first compiled and preserved as the sacred books of the ancient Hebrew people. As the Bible of the Hebrews and their Jewish descendants down to the present, these books have been perhaps the most decisive single factor in the preservation of the Jews as a cultural entity and Judaism as a religion. The Old Testament and the New Testament—a body of writings that chronicle the origin and early dissemination of Christianity—constitute the Bible of the Christians.

The literature of the Bible, encompassing the Old and New Testaments and various noncanonical works, has played a special role in the history and culture of the Western world and has itself become the subject of intensive critical study. This field of scholarship, including exegesis (critical interpretation) and hermeneutics (the science of interpretive principles), has assumed an important place in the theologies of Judaism and Christianity. The methods and purposes of exegesis and hermeneutics are treated below. For the cultural and historical contexts in which this literature developed, see Judaism and Christianity.

Influence and significance

Historical and cultural importance

After the kingdoms of Israel and Judah had fallen, in 722 bce (before the Common Era, equivalent to bc) and 587/586 bce, respectively, the Hebrew people outlived defeat, captivity, and the loss of their national independence, largely because they possessed writings that preserved their history and traditions. Many of them did not return to Palestine after their exile. Those who did return did so to rebuild a temple and reconstruct a society that was more nearly a religious community than an independent nation. The religion found expression in the books of the Old Testament: books of the Law (Torah), history, prophecy, and poetry. The survival of the Jewish religion and its subsequent incalculable influence in the history of Western culture are difficult to explain without acknowledgment of the importance of the biblical writings.

When the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 ce (Common Era, equivalent to ad), the historical, priestly sacrificial worship centred in it came to an end and was never resumed. But the religion of the Jewish people had by then gone with them into many lands, where it retained its character and vitality because it still drew its nurture from biblical literature. The Bible was with them in their synagogues, where it was read, prayed, and taught. It preserved their identity as a people, inspired their worship, arranged their calendar, permeated their family lives; it shaped their ideals, sustained them in persecution, and touched their intellects. Whatever Jewish talent and genius have contributed to Western civilization is due in no small degree to the influence of the Bible.

In Christianity

The Hebrew Bible is as basic to Christianity as it is to Judaism. Without the Old Testament, the New Testament could not have been written and there could have been no man like Jesus; Christianity could not have been what it became. This has to do with cultural values, basic human values, as much as with religious beliefs. The Genesis stories of prehistoric events and people are a conspicuous example. The Hebrew myths of creation have superseded the racial mythologies of Latin, Germanic, Slavonic, and all other Western peoples. This is not because they contain historically factual information or scientifically adequate accounts of the universe, the beginning of life, or any other subject of knowledge, but because they furnish a profoundly theological interpretation of the universe and human existence, an intellectual framework of reality large enough to make room for developing philosophies and sciences.

This biblical structure of ideas is shared by Jews and Christians. It centres in the one and only God, the Creator of all that exists. All things have their place in this structure of ideas. All mankind is viewed as a unity, with no race existing for itself alone. The Covenant people (i.e., the Hebrews in the Old Testament and Christians in the New Testament) are chosen not to enjoy special privileges but to serve God’s will toward all nations. The individual’s sacred rights condemn his abuse, exploitation, or neglect by the rich and powerful or by society itself. Widows, orphans, the stranger, the friendless, and the helpless have a special claim. God’s will and purpose are viewed as just, loving, and ultimately prevailing. The future is God’s, when his rule will be fully established.

The Bible went with the Christian Church into every land in Europe, bearing its witness to God. The church, driven in part by the power of biblical themes, called men to ethical and social responsibility, to a life answerable to God, to love for all men, to sonship in the family of God, and to citizenship in a kingdom yet to be revealed. The Bible thus points to a way of life never yet perfectly embodied in any society in history. Weighing every existing kingdom, government, church, party, and organization, it finds them wanting in that justice, mercy, and love for which they were intended.

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